Guardian
by Dallas K
Summary: When Annie's family is in trouble, her world comes crashing down. Are she and Auggie ready to act as parents? Are they able to evade a dangerous new enemy? Established A/A. Now with Chapter 4.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own this.

Annie Walker knew a bad day at the office. But she felt they were getting worse, and the degeneration was wearing on her. By the end of the week, her back was aching and her shoulders gave an ominous crack every time she arched it.

She decided to skip heading to Auggie Anderson's apartment. He was at work late anyway- some urgent intel had prompted an all hands Tech Ops meeting, and Annie's aching body and empty inbox told her it was time to head home even if it meant going alone.

As soon as she got home, she went upstairs and drew a bath. After her long soak, about half a tub of body butter and a face peel, she felt sufficiently pampered. She didn't engage in these girly comforts often, but when she did, she reveled in it. She put on her comfiest pair of sweats and a thick, soft, made-for-November crewneck and settled into the couch in Danielle's nearly empty house. She checked the home phone for messages, and there were none- not even from Danielle, which was odd- but she was slightly relieved. No one to answer to, no one to interrupt her rare break from her daily life.

But her solitary bliss was short lived. Two minutes into her DVD and six spoonfuls into her pint of Ben and Jerry's, her cell phone rang. She groaned, but saw that it was Auggie- if there was one person she would invite into this moment, it would be him.

"Good evening, sugarplum," Annie answered with the relaxed cheerfulness that reflected her mood.

"Annie, you need to come to Langley. Immediately. I'm so sorry." His voice was urgent

"What's this about?" She was sufficiently shocked out of her good humor. "Auggie?"

"Annie, I'm so sorry… It's… you have to come to Langley."

"How soon? I'm not dressed-"

"_Now, _Annie, it doesn't matter, don't even change, just get to the office."

"Okay." She said, and he hung up. She knew better than to ask questions, to think whether this was important. She saw that it was, and was past protesting. She snapped off the TV, hurriedly stuck the ice cream back in the freezer, and headed to her office as fast as she could- only stopping to grab her shoes, keys, and coat.

Langley at this hour was strange. It was equal parts bustling and abandoned, brightly lit and quiet. She pushed passed the front doors and almost made it to the turnstile entrance when she realized she had not grabbed the coat she'd worn to work today, but her trench coat, instead- so she was without a passkey. She mentally kicked herself and audibly groaned in frustration. She then pulled her phone out to dial Auggie.

"Where are you?" He said by way of answering in the same tone of urgency from earlier that night.

"The lobby- but I forgot my ID."

He didn't falter. "Wait there."

Annie shoved her hands into the pocket of trench trench coat and leaned against a column. She stood in the lobby for another minute- tapping her foot and avoiding eye contact with the guard.

She was relieved when she heard footsteps coming towards her, but was surprised to that it was Joan, carrying a file under her arm, with Auggie on her elbow.

The two exited the turnstile and stood silently in front of her for longer than she cared.

"Well? You dragged me here at this hour, what is it?" She had been patient enough up until this moment.

"Annie…" his voice carried love and concern, mixed in with a tone that she didn't recognize and couldn't read. Her stomach did flips, and while she never let it show, she was beginning to get nervous. "Let's sit down. Joan's going to read you in, and I'm going to be here, for you."

Joan gave a nod and led them over to a small table by the main security desk and offered them each a plastic chair. She cleared her throat and opened the file in front of her, sliding a picture across the table towards Annie.

"You know Michael Brooks?" Though, it was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes…" She gaped, staring at the picture with awe and confusion. "He's my brother in law."

The picture showed his NSA identification.

"You may not know that he was the former Secret Service foreign intelligence liaison."

"Mike… He's a business man."

"He was, for a time. Up until a little over a year ago he was living civilian life- of course, under the supervision of the Secret Service and the NSA- but he's been staffed out on an interagency covert operation in LA."

"What op?" She surprised herself that that was her first question.

"It's above your clearance, Annie, but I had to read you in on that to tell you the rest."

Auggie chose this moment to take her hand and squeeze it. She thought for a second about pulling it away, but decided instead to turn to Joan and ask "What's the rest? And does Danielle know about all of this?"

Joan shifted in her seat, and her gaze deferred to Auggie.

"Annie, Danielle's in a coma." He says in the low, cracking voice that anybody delivers bad news. "Her recovery is a possibility but not a likelihood. Mike was abducted, we think he's being held hostage. He was taken from the house, and in the struggle, Dani was badly injured."

"What about the girls? What about Katia and Chloe?" Annie let her voice crack for the first time in what felt like years.

"They're okay, they're at a slumber party."

"That's where they are now? When did this all happen?"

"Just a few hours ago. We didn't want to call you in until we had confirmed the intel."

"We have to find Mike. We have to get him back for them, we have to find the person who did this to them, immediately, Joan, you have to tell me why and how and help me save him-"

"Annie, our best people are on it." Joan stopped her. "The NSA's best people are on it, same with the FBI, the Service and every cop with a walkie talkie's on the lookout. It just can't be you. I read you in on Michael Brooks because I knew you'd find out soon enough. But come tomorrow morning, they're going to be two little girls at their neighbor's house wondering where their mom and dad are. You're the legal guardian. You've been officially released from government duty until Mike is found or your sister has recovered."

She gulped, and looked to Auggie, whose hand was still clasped tightly around hers. She felt like she had been hit by a train, completely blindsided and crushed.

"I'm here for you, Annie, in any way you need."

"No, not any way. You can't drop everything and come with me to California."

Auggie opened his mouth to speak, but was just as soon cut off by Joan.

"Yes, he can."

"I can?" Auggie asked in disbelief, his voice laced with cautious hope.

"Yes. The op will live without you. You two better get going, you have tickets on a flight to California leaves in 3 hours." She collected her file and left, disappearing back into the innards of the Agency. Annie hadn't felt like this much of an outsider in all her time here.

Annie, accompanied by Auggie, returned home, changed, packed a bag and drove to long-term parking at Dulles. All the while, she replayed this surreal disaster over and over again in her head.

This was bad, worse and messier than anything she had felt or seen during her near five years in covert ops. But she knew there was only one thing to do now- protect her nieces.

TO BE CONTINUED

**Reviews super welcome. I will be updating this story as soon as I possibly can and if people respond will likely continue. Thank you for reading and have a nice day. **


	2. Chapter 2

As the plane rose in elevation, Annie felt that even this breathtaking speed was too slow. She knew they had quite a few hours before Katia and Chloe would need her, but flying felt like waiting when there was nothing to do but let her thoughts race. What would she tell them when she got there? She discerned. How would she explain the mysterious disappearance of their parents?

The current plan she'd formulated was to get the girls, gather some of their things and take them back to DC. They could sleep in their old rooms, she figured, and it was best to get them as far away from the situation with their father as possible. The thought of leaving Danielle unconscious in California made her heartsick, but she would see that she was safe there. Somehow.

Annie was grateful for the warm arm wrapped around her, pulling her into his chest. She felt lucky for every soft kiss that grazed the top of her head.

"I'm sorry if I sucked you into coming with me. Me and Joan sort of ganged up on you."

"Oh, Annie. Don't even say that; this whole thing is… scary, and messy. But don't think for a second I was going to let you go through it alone."

"Thank you. That means so much to me."

"You mean so much to me."

It was getting sappy fast and Annie didn't mind, but she was thinking about other things. "What's hard is to remember that this isn't some op. I'm not going to solve the mystery or complete the mission. I'm just going to take care of the girls, which is really hard to separate out from everything that's happened to Michael and the intelligence aspect."

"I know. These are the toughest things- the ones that deal with real lives and people we know. But it's really nice that this isn't work- you can focus on your nieces."

"And my sister. I'm sick about Danielle."

"I know… I can't even imagine if it were one of my brothers. But I know that if it was my nephew, I wouldn't be half as strong and smart as you will be about it. You know those girls, and they love you."

"Thank you. But you would be good at taking care of a family, I know it. You'd be a good…" She almost said the word _father_, but the word itself was a bigger commitment than most men were ready for early in a relationship.

"Dad?" He finished.

"Yeah," She breathed into his jacket.

"It means a lot to hear you say that."

It wasn't the reaction she was expecting, but in a way, she truly didn't know what she was expecting in the first place. She was pleasantly surprised at his calmness and his sincerity, even though she knew she shouldn't have expected anything less. "Well, it's the truth," she replied honestly.

He smiled into her hair. He placed another one of his soft, tingle- inducing kiss atop it and said softly, "I know it'll be difficult, but you have to try and rest."

She took the advice, letting her exhaustion take over. She fell into a deep but disturbed sleep leaning against him.

Auggie leaned back in his seat, and as he slowly fell asleep, he considered their exchange. While growing up he had always imagined himself as a husband and a father. It was less of an aspiration than an assumption he made about his life. Growing up in a big family, he had a mother and father who pressed the importance of love, home life, and family. He saw good people raising good people and wanted it for himself. That didn't change until the day he lost his sight. How would he raise a family? How would he find a woman to marry him, when he could barely take care of himself?

As he gained more control over his life, his career became the single important thing in his life. Socially, he lived the bachelor's dream, and he couldn't imagine things any other way. Until Parker. Even though she wasn't right for him, he had fallen in love with the idea of her. Somebody who he could share his life with, somebody sweet and smart and spectacular. _Annie. _The moment he realized he was in love with Annie Walker, he let his childhood picture of what his life would be creep back into his mind.

Now, the thought of helping her take care of her nieces both scared and delighted him. There was always the possibility that this wasn't temporary- if, God forbid, Michael wasn't found in time or Danielle passed away. It was moments like these he wished he could be the kind of person who prayed. He would pray for Danielle, for Mike, and for Annie and for the girls. He wanted more than anything for the girls to get their parents back, for everyone's lives to go back to normal- but he knew that no one would leave this experience unchanged.

Uneasily, the both slept the rest of the flight. They navigated their way through LAX, groggy and sleepy eyed, and found a rental car station. As they began to pull out of the airport parking lot in a rented Prius, Auggie's watch told them the time in an electronic voice: 5:38 am.

"Oh god, is that the time?" Annie groaned. "Well I don't want to get the girls until we have to. We should let them sleep if we're going to travel today."

"Yes- but their house is also probably a crime scene right now, and we don't want them to see that commotion."

"I looked up directions at the airport earlier. The neighbor's, Jim and Kelly Morgan's house is quite a few blocks away, and closer to the entrance of the subdivision. We'll pick them up and get them out of the neighborhood, take them out to breakfast maybe. Then I'll come back and get some of their things. The flight I booked leaves at five so we'll have some time to kill."

"Sounds like a plan. Though we have a few hours before they'll be awake, what do you want to do?" Auggie asked.

"Actually," She replied faster than she thought. "I was thinking we should go to the hospital. I want to see what's going on with Danielle myself."

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Annie?"

"Why not?"

"Well…. These people, the ones who took Michael- they're ruthless. From what Barber described, I don't know if it's something you'll want to see."

"It's my sister, Auggie, and she's alone. I can't leave LA without seeing her, seeing that she's taken care of."

"If you're sure."

"I am." Though a nervous energy filled her, thinking of her sister hurt. They stopped at a red light, and Annie typed the hospital's name into the GPS. As the light turned green, she took a left towards the highway.

It was a twenty minute drive to the hospital, and the whole time, Annie's mind played out the scenarios: Danielle is already awake and making jokes and expected to make a healthy recovery. Danielle is brain damaged, never expected to wake up, and Annie should say her goodbyes. Danielle died in the night, they did everything they could. The glimmer of hope she felt was fading fast and Annie needed badly to see her sister for herself.

They arrived at the hospital and found parking in a garage behind it, then entered and looked for a reception desk.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, visiting hours begin at eight." A young woman in ducky scrubs told them, though her tone was unapologetic.

"Well, can I speak with the doctor? Get updated on her condition? The patient is Danielle Brooks, ICU."

"You're family?"

"Yes, she's my sister."

"Well, I'll page the doctor, and you can sit in that waiting area. But if he's busy, there's no guarantees how long it will be."

"Okay, that's fine. Thank you."

She led Auggie over to the indicated sitting area, and he took a seat while she went over to the coffee dispensary machine and filled two Styrofoam cups with hot, black coffee.

"Thank you," Auggie said as the cup was placed in his hand. "I think we need this." He took a grateful gulp, not caring that it was still very hot. "Are you okay with waiting here for a little bit?"

"Yeah, what else is there to do?"

"Fair enough."

"You know, I bet the girls will be excited to see you. It's been awhile, but they love you."

"Yeah, they always kind of thought I was awesome. But I bet they've missed you, too."

"They were right, then. And I've missed them. They're good girls. They're older now, though, and I haven't seen them in a long time."

"Do you think they'll have changed a lot?"

"I don't know. Chloe will be twelve now, almost thirteen. Danielle says she gets more and more difficult."

"As children often do. They feel like they're growing up, so they resent the people who still treat them like little kids."

"Yeah, I guess that's true. Me and Dani were hell as teenagers."

The thought of her sister made her frown. Growing up, Danielle and Annie had barely gotten along. But as they'd become adults, they'd truly been best friends. She took for granted that her life would always be partially shared with her sister, that they would always know each other and love each other. And now, Danielle's life was hanging in the balance.

She thought back to when Danielle had asked her to sign the will to make her the legal guardian of her daughters if anything were to happen to her and Michael. At the time she'd been unsure- her new job had her getting shot at on the very first day, and it felt like a lie to say she would always be there for Katia and Chloe- even though she truly wanted to be. Danielle had called her selfish, but then apologized. But Annie signed it.

Annie had thought it to be a gesture- a small way to show her love for her sister on paper. But now, it had taken her here. The improbable had happened, and Annie had a rather clichéd thought: _Why do bad things happen to good people?_

"Earth to Annie," joked Auggie. "What are you thinking about?"

"Just…. Danielle. And how unfair this is, I guess. She's a good person. So is Michael."

"It doesn't work like that."

"Yeah, I know." She sighed. "But maybe it…."

She trailed off as she saw a man in light blue scrubs and a lab coat walking towards them, medical chart in hand- presumably Danielle's doctor.

"Are you Mrs. Brooks' sister?"

She stood and extended a hand. "Yes, Annie Walker. And this is Auggie Anderson."

He gestured for her to take a seat, and sat in one of the chairs across from them. He opened the chart and spoke, matter-of-factly. "I'm going to talk to you about your sister's condition. She was brought in by ambulance late last night with several severe stab wounds in her lower abdomen, and a fractured ribs, leg, and skull. We induced a coma, and right now she's in surgery with ortho, the bone surgeons, to fix help her leg and ribs. We've wrapped and stabilized her abdomen and that will suffice for now, as we have to perform a rather delicate reparation of her tissues there."

Annie held Auggie's hand like it was her lifeline. Tears prickled the back of her eyes, and she again let her normally cool voice falter as she asked, "What about her head?"

"We can perform surgery to repair her skull, but first we have to look into possible brain damage. Stopping, repairing, or preventing any brain damage is the first priority in her care, and we have our best neurosurgeon looking at her."

"How long will all this take?" Annie hated the thought of leaving Danielle here alone with all of this.

"It depends on Dr. Patel, her neurosurgeon's analysis."

"Well, can you call me when you get those results?"

"Of course, Ms. Walker. We have your contact information on file. We'll be able to let you know by the end of the day."

They thanked him and gathered to leave. Auggie extended his cane and wrapped his arm around Annie's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'll be fine. We should be heading out to get the girls now; their place is a way's from here."

Auggie agreed and they began to head towards their car. They had almost reached their parking space when Annie noticed a man leaning against their car. He was wearing a suit, and had his hands coolly in his pockets. His dark silver aviator glasses made it impossible to tell where his gaze fell, but with his head turned to the left, Annie was fairly certain he hadn't noticed them.

"What is it, Annie?" Auggie asked, nearly immediately sensing something was wrong.

"We have a visitor," She whispered through her teeth.

Auggie's words had been a little too loud to go unnoticed by man waiting by the car, who was only about fifty feet away.

"Auggie Anderson!" The suit-clad man just about bellowed, removing his glasses and placing them in his jacket pocket. With a laugh, he added "Do my eyes deceive me?"

She looked to Auggie as if he could provide explanation in this moment. His jaw was clenched It was too late to avoid him, Annie figured, so the two cautiously continued to approach the car.

"And who are you?" She questioned, looking around the garage observantly to make sure that he didn't have them surrounded. The place seemed to be empty, save for the three and a scattered few cars.

"I'm a messenger- with a friendly reminder: This is our operation. We deal with enough bureaucratic bullshit in SoCal, so we don't need the CIA sending in babysitters to help us through this."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Auggie was the first to answer.

"Oh, that's your play? What the hell kind of business does a CIA tech op have visiting Danielle Brooks in the hospital the day after an NSA op takes a wrong turn?" He was looking straight at Auggie.

"Danielle Brooks is my sister!" Annie cried. She would normally be more careful about sharing information like that. But her intuition told her that in this moment, the truth was the only clear play.

"And you can prove that?" The man glared at her, obviously not expecting her explanation.

"My name is Annie Walker and I'm the emergency contact on file. Now if you'd excuse me."

The man nodded and walked the couple paces to his black sedan. "Okay, _Annie Walker, _but don't think there aren't eyes on you. Both of you." He turned to Auggie and smiled cruelly. "Have a good one!"

Annie looked to Auggie and narrowed her eyes as the black sedan careened out of the parking garage.

"Who and what the hell was that?"

"God, I wish I knew."

TO BE CONTINUED.

**This chapter was supposed to be longer but it got really long by the middle so chapter three is coming soon. Thank you for reading, please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

"And you're sure you don't know him? At all?" Annie was repeating herself. She had asked him the same question several times as they rehashed what had gone down in the parking garage.

Auggie again denied knowing anything about the strange man, who they suspected was an FBI agent going by his words. And it was the truth- he had never heard him before. Auggie had resolved to try not to worry about the situation. The agent had obviously thought that their arrival was some kind of CIA overstep and not a personal or family matter. But why had the man recognized him, calling him out, and not Annie? The question nagged at him. What operation was so big that it stretched over several agencies? And most importantly, why was his name tied to it? But he tried not to let his worries show, so that Annie could focus on the task at hand. Once the girls were safely back in DC, he would go to Joan with the situation.

Annie couldn't take her mind off of it either. An above-her-clearance operation involved her family, and now there was a stranger approaching them in a parking garage and warning them to stay in their own territory? Suddenly an already messy situation had crossed the line to what felt like dangerous, and she didn't like the thought of Chloe and Katia being anywhere near it. The best course of action, she thought, would be to continue as planned. Get the girls and get them as far away from all of this as possible.

They drove, for the most part in silence an hour's way to a quiet suburb of Los Angeles, nearly getting lost in a tangled web of houses that all looked eerily similar. The center of the town was apparently the oldest, and it held several considerably more charming gated communities, one of which was Danielle's. Though she knew that the name of the subdivision was Palm Gardens, she would have picked it out of the group as it was the only entrance that had a small police detail. She explained who she was and why she was there to an officer, and after showing identification, he let her through.

The Morgan's house was on the first block of similar, old brick and ivy homes. Annie parked the car directly in front, but hesitated to exit.

"Is something wrong?" Auggie asked, pointlessly, as if there weren't already a thousand things wrong with everything in this moment.

"They're in there right now, probably having a really fun time with their friends. I don't want to ruin it; I don't want to tell them what's going on with their parents."

"Then don't. They don't have to know."

"Really?"

"Maybe if the situation changes, better or worse, you'll need to break it to them. But for now… I don't see why Michael and Danielle weren't planning this little surprise trip to DC with their cool aunt Annie all along."

"I suppose…" She felt a little relieved at Auggie's suggestion. Letting the girls think this was all some fun family adventure was an infinitely less heartbreaking thought than telling them any version of the truth.

She let out a heavy breath and exited the car, then headed to the other side to lead Auggie out. Weeds grew out a cracking brick sidewalk, and flower pots lined the small, concrete porch, but were empty. The yard had obviously not been maintained since the summer ended, and yet the place maintained a certain charm.

After ringing a plastic doorbell and waiting a short time, a tall, worn-out looking woman answered the door and looked at Annie and Auggie with confusion. Annie spoke quickly.

"Hi, I'm Annie, I'm Danielle Brooks' sister. Are you Kelly Morgan?"

"Um, yes," she looked behind her and slipped out the door, gingerly shutting it behind her. She adjusted her lengthy sweater around her and crossed her arms over her chest. She had curly yellow-brown hair, sunken eyes, and a wide nose. Her eyes narrowed as she spoke. "I assume you're here to get the girls, but would you mind telling me what went on last night at the Brooks' place last night? There was some kind of accident?"

"Um, yes, there was an accident." Annie realized that she hadn't thought of what she would tell the Morgans, and was relieved that she had offered up her own explanation. "I don't know all the details, but Danielle and Mike are both going to be okay." She tried to swallow the feeling that she was lying through her teeth. After all, she _wanted _it to be true. "I'm here to get the girls."

"Right, well come on in." She opened her door to them. "It was my daughter Trixie's birthday last weekend. We had a bunch of girls over for a sleepover. My older daughter, Sophia, is friends with Chloe so she came as well. They had a blast. I made pancakes and they're eating on the back porch. Can I get you anything? Water?"

"I'm fine, thank you, Mrs. Morgan." Annie then realized she had forgotten her manners. "Oh, gosh, I'm sorry, this is Auggie."

As Auggie extended a slightly misdirected hand, Annie once again witnessed the sometimes awkward moment when somebody first realizes he's blind. Kelly Morgan didn't skip a beat. "Oh, I'm Kelly, please. Very nice to meet you, Auggie. Nice to meet you both." She led them through a narrow kitchen and through a sliding glass door, where a large outdoor table held ten girls, all giggling and eating pancakes off of plastic plates.

"Katia, Chloe, your aunt is here to retrieve you!"

Two small heads looked up from their breakfasts.

"Annie!" Katia squealed and ran straight in for a big hug. Then the young girl saw the man standing next to her aunt. "Auggie?!" She turned her attention to him, just as Chloe got up from the table. Annie was agape- the girl had grown immensely. She was still small, young and girlish, but she was taller, her face was more mature. Her mousey brown hair was pulled into a pony tail that she swept over one of her shoulders. Chloe pulled Annie into a tight, meaningful hug.

"I'm so glad you're here," she whispered. "It's so good to see you."

"You too, Chloe, I've missed you so much."

Chloe, too, hugged Auggie, but soon the girl's questions began.

"You're Mom and Dad are gonna be away for a while. She thought it might be fun if you spent some time with us, in DC." She wished she was better at lying to them. She was good at the act itself, but normally, it didn't hurt so much.

Luckily, they were excited by the prospect.

Annie and Auggie waited at the house's front hallway while Chloe and Katia said goodbye to their friends and gathered their things.

Annie smiled at the sight of them coming up the basement stairs. Katia still had a sweet bob haircut, all in one layer that bounced on her narrow shoulders. She wore a long sleeved soccer shirt matched with some pajama pants that showed glittery purple penguins and pair of ballet flats that had a pink, elastic band that held them on. Chloe had changed into day clothes, jeans and a tee shirt and a jean jacket. They both carried small overnight bags and sleeping bags under their shoulders.

"You guys ready to go?" Auggie asked. They gave the affirmative, and Katia grabbed Auggie's hand, barely giving him enough time to unravel his cane as they exited the house. Annie started to follow suit, but Chloe grabbed her wrist.

"I'm not stupid, you know."

"Excuse me?" Annie was taken aback.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean… Some of the older girls were upstairs last night and we saw what was happening. I know something's going on. My mom didn't plan some surprise trip to DC."

"I'm sorry," was the only thing Annie could think to say.

"I guess I get that you don't want to get us upset. So I guess I don't expect a… explanation, or whatever. And I won't say anything to Kat. I just want you to know that I get what's going on, and I'm here to help." She gave a small, brave smile, which Annie returned.

"Thank you, Chloe. My God, you've grown up so much." She put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. Chloe called a thank you to Mrs. Morgan and they joined Katia and Auggie by the car.

"So," Annie said, clapping her hands together. "We've got some free time before our flight. I know you guys already ate, but I was thinking we could go out to brunch?"

Katia turned to Chloe and smiled mischievously. The older girl feigned derision. "Ugh! Fine!"

Auggie smiled, "What's up?"

"Katia's gonna beg you guys to take us to a restaurant called George's, and as her older sister I have to support her decision. They have French fries shaped like smiley faces." She nodded along with her words, as if they were a solemn admittance.

"Well! George's it is, Annie, they have _smiley face French fries." _Auggie agreed, and they drove a short ways to a family restaurant which was indeed the sort of place you'd expect to have smiley face French fries. There was a lot of families with young children, all seated at booths and tables that were made to imitate an old fifties diner. Towards the back, Annie even noticed a balloon artist.

"Mom never lets us come here anymore," Chloe informed them, and Annie could understand Danielle's distaste for a place like this, even though she didn't share it.

They got a table and ordered a round of milkshakes, then opened up some plastic covered menus and began to chat. She asked the girls about what they had been up to recently, and they had a lot to say. Chloe was dancing, and getting pretty serious about it, she told them. She was just taking classes, right now, at a local studio, but she would be auditioning for the junior company in the fall. Katia was playing soccer with the local league and having a great time.

Annie felt guilty- she hadn't thought of everything she'd be taking them away from. She would have to think of ways to entertain them while they were in DC. In a few weeks, their break from school would be over, and not knowing when this would end, she didn't know if she would have to deal with that, too. She turned those words over in her head. _When this would end._ What if it never did? She classified it as some temporary situation with an indefinite end, but it could very well be permanent.

She didn't want to think like that. She would fix the problems that permanence would pose when or if that time came. She didn't want to let herself be guilty and worried while there were Oreo milkshakes and smiley face French fries.

When they finished their meal, Katia took Auggie over to a cluster of arcade games by the back to play Miss Pacman. Annie turned to the older girl.

"So I'm gonna head to your house pretty soon to gather some of your things."

"Let me go with you." Chloe said. It was not a question.

"No, I'm sorry honey, you can't." Annie replied quickly. It was plainly not a good idea to bring Chloe with her. She didn't know what to expect at her house, but whatever it was, she didn't want to expose Chloe to it.

"Come on, I can help you." Chloe reasoned.

"No, it's just not something I can let happen."

"Whatever it is, I can handle it." Her face and voice grew serious. "Please. I can help you pack. I want to go with you." She was pleading now. Annie couldn't resist it.

"Fine, I'll ask Auggie if he's cool with staying here with Katia."

Chloe nearly responded, but held back, simply giving Annie a triumphant smile.

Annie told Auggie what was up, and he responded just as she expected, "Are you sure?"

She looked at Katia, who looked focused on her pinball game a few feet away. She then lowered her voice and leaned towards him, "How am I supposed to be _sure _about any of this? Chloe really wants to come with me. I know there are reasons why I shouldn't, but she can help me pack and she's says she can handle it."

"You don't want to upset her, do you?"

"I don't, especially not right now."

"Sometimes you have to make the tough calls-"

"You pick your battles. I don't think this is it."

"Okay. We'll be here. I'll be getting my butt kicked at Miss Pacman here."

Annie laughed. "Yeah… this doesn't seem fair."

"Nah, I'm letting her win."

Annie smiled, giving him a little shove on the arm and a kiss on cheek. "I'll be back soon."

Chloe was already waiting at the door. They exited the restaurant, bells clinging above them. Chloe skillfully navigated their way back to the subdivision. Annie was amazed- Chloe was a little girl the last time she saw her. Now, she was sitting in the front seat and giving directions.

The police officer stationed outside the gates recognized her and waved them through, and Chloe continued to point Annie in the right directions, until they reached the Brooks' block.

There was nothing- no police, no yellow tape. Just a quiet row of brick houses, the distant sound of a lawn mower. Annie knew she should have expected this. A case involving covert ops was usually kept just as quiet. Minimal police presence was there to ensure safety and the rest was kept under wraps. There were certain things they couldn't hide, however, like an ambulance, which was, Annie figured, why the neighbors were clued in to something being terribly wrong.

Chloe used her key to get in, and Annie was relieved to see that nothing looked out of order in the front hallway. As was usual Danielle Brooks fashion, the place was decorated charmingly.

There were some suitcases in the basement, Chloe explained, and Annie could head upstairs.

Annie did so, climbing the stairs, which were crafted of elegant black hardwood, noting that Danielle had probably done some remodeling. The black floors contrasted with white wood doors, all of which were shut upstairs, except for one at the end of the hallway.

Annie gulped- she saw cracked glass spilling towards the door, littered with crimson stains of blood. As she approached further, she could see the full and horrid scene. Large French doors, which led out to an upstairs deck with a staircase, were completely smashed through. This must have been the perpetrator's point of entry and exit, she inferred, as her gaze shifted across the room towards the bed. The bedding was torn, strewn across the floor, and most disturbingly, covered in wide stains of blood. The room looked like a still from a horror film, broken and bloody and horrifying. Annie backed out of the room. This was exactly what she didn't want Chloe to see. So as not to worry about leaving fingerprints, she took her jacket and pulled one sleeve over her hand and shut the door.

She looked up to see Chloe standing just a few feet in front of her, looking white as a sheet. She held one massive suitcase in each hand, but set them down to step towards Annie.

"Oh, Chloe, I didn't want you to…" Annie trailed off, as her niece wordlessly wrapped her arms around Annie's neck and pulled her into a hug. She gladly accepted Chloe's embrace. They stood there like that for a few, long moments, and when they pulled away, she could see her niece's face was stained with tears. Annie couldn't find the right words, so she said nothing, but stroked her hair, and gave her a loving look that she only hoped would express her feelings.

"We should, um, get packing," Chloe said, wiping her face and straightening her stance.

They set to work, using Katia's bed as a surface to fold clothing and stack it neatly in the large bags. Then, there were items only Chloe could know to bring: her journal, Katia's favorite doll, little pieces of home that Annie may have otherwise neglected. They worked efficiently, placing the luggage in the rental car's trunk along with the overnight bags in under half an hour, heading back to Auggie and Katia at the restaurant. A few turns into their drive, Annie noticed the telltale signs of being tailed.

The black sedan behind them followed the rental car's every move, apparently not attempting to hide that it was following them, which in itself made Annie angry.

"Chloe, are there any other exits to the subdivision?"

"Yeah, one off of Orchard Road, I think, and another on Woodsage Drive."

Annie took a sharp U turn, nearly crashing into the sedan as she went. She swerved around it and sped up the street they came. Chloe, steadying herself on the dashboard, cried out, "Annie! What are you doing!?"

"There's a person following us and I'm trying to lose him. Turn on the GPS."

Chloe kept her questions to herself as the car took another sharp turn and she followed her aunt's instruction. The sedan's driver was adept and too soon was on her tail again, though she had increased the distance between them. She thanked the subdivisions winding, intersecting streets as she was finally able to lose him, exiting the subdivision through an alleyway while she heard the sedan still speeding up the neighboring street, which the car's GPS showed would take him to a dead end.

"So we lost him?" Chloe asked.

"For now." Annie answered, as they pulled in to George's.

Annie quickly paid the check and collected Katia and Auggie, pulling Auggie to the side as they began to leave.

"I was tailed, in Danielle's neighborhood." She recounted the entire incident. He shared her thoughts; they needed to leave California as soon as possible.

They headed straight for the airport. They had a while before their flight, so they passed their time in the airport terminal with poorly written paperbacks and long games of I Spy, for which Auggie was an amusing guesser. But, the drive to the airport had taken quite a while, as well as returning the car, checking in, checking bags, and making it through security, so the time they waited in the airport was long but not oppressive. Soon enough, they were boarding the flight to Dulles.

They found four seats together in the ninth row, though Annie and Auggie's were separated by an aisle. The plane hummed in preparation for their take off, and while Katia and Chloe looked out the window and chatted softly, Auggie leaned over to Annie across the way.

"You're doing great," He whispered, squeezing her hand.

"Thanks. You, too. I think Katia loves you more than I do." She joked sweetly.

"I hope not. You don't make me play arcade games."

"Hey, I heard you won a few of those at the end."

"What can I say?" he shrugged, "I won't apologize for awesome."

"Good philosophy." She whispered back, kissing him softly on the lips, eliciting joking oohs and ahs from the girls.

Annie was exhausted. She hadn't slept the night before, but the long flight was an opportunity for some well-deserved sleep. She bid the girls to rest, too, and the four of them napped rockily the whole six hours to DC.

The long flight plus the time difference meant that it was painfully late when a groggy Annie, Katia, Chloe, and Auggie arrived at the baggage claim. They stood around for quite a while with their fellow travelers, all staring at an empty carousel. Annie took the opportunity to check her messages. And there was one, from the hospital's number. She stepped away to take it.

"Auggie, we took our beds with us to California… where does Annie expect us to sleep tonight?"

Auggie thought fast, a wonderful idea slipping into his mind. "Do you guys like indoor camping?"

When Annie returned from her call, Auggie asked her what it was about, but she shook her head and said she would talk with him about it tomorrow. Auggie then told her the grand plan, to construct a massive blanket fort in Annie's room and sleep in it tonight.

"Sounds brilliant. We have to make one stop first."

After they got their luggage, took the shuttle back to long term parking, and began their drive back to Annie's, everyone's weariness began to show more and more. But, because she knew they couldn't go home and fall asleep right away, she convinced herself that she had some energy remaining.

She stopped at the all hour's convenience store by her house and returned with a grocery bag that looked suspiciously like the ingredients for s'mores, but wouldn't say a word about it.

When they got home, she instructed the other three to go into the house and she took all the luggage upstairs to her room. When she got back from the kitchen, she instructed the girls to get all the blankets they could find from the basement.

Danielle had gotten rid of a lot of things when she moved, but instead of selling it or giving it to charity, she left it to Annie, in case she would ever need, say, a stand mixer or a massive amount of blankets. In this moment she was glad for Danielle's invitations to nest, because the blankets would come in very handy.

When the girls were downstairs, Annie preheated the oven and got out a cookie sheet. As she began to arrange the s'mores, Auggie exclaimed, "Walker! You're gonna sugar them up just before bed!"

"Hey, we're gonna need the energy if we're gonna make a blanket fort before bed time." She reasoned, offering him a piece of chocolate.

He gratefully accepted it, but the expression on his face changed, as if he had just realized something.  
"Is it okay if I stay here tonight?" He was too exhausted to think of going home, but he didn't want to smother Annie, or make anyone feel uncomfortable.

"I don't think the girls will let you leave. Auggie, you've been extremely helpful. It would be a delight to have you camp with us."

The girls soon returned with armfuls of blankets.

"S'mores!" Katia squealed.

"Yes!" Chloe matched her enthusiasm.

"You said camping, I delivered." Annie said, feeling pleased that she had enthused the young ladies. She put the s'mores in the oven and set a timer on her phone. She took one of Katia's armfuls of blankets and said, "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get started."

They went to the guest house and began their work. Using her two small couches and the mattress from her bed as walls, the four created a surprisingly sound structure. They used several blankets to form a sloped ceiling and began to lay down a floor when Annie went to get the s'mores. Upon her return with the plate of melty, sweet treats, the three were sitting on some pillows around a little lantern underneath their blanket ceiling. The fort looked great- the whole thing made Annie grin. The girls and Auggie all grinned back as they ate some delicious s'mores and told stories about times they'd been camping, indoor or otherwise. They finished off the plate, and Annie soaked it in the bathroom sink and began to get back to work, the four of them creatively using, pillows, blankets, and almost every above the ground surface in the room to create a blanket fort that filled the guest house bedroom almost entirely.

When their work was done, Annie instructed the girls to get into the pajamas and brush their teeth while she and Auggie set up the sleeping bags in the blanket fort's main chamber.

"This thing, is pretty freaking awesome." Annie marveled as she rolled out Katia's pink camouflage sleeping bag.

"I can tell," Auggie said. "The place feels so cozy."

They, too, changed into more comfortable clothing, and waited for the girls to return to them. When they did, Chloe carried a copy of _The Princess Diaries _with her, which she asked if she could read aloud from to help Katia fall asleep. Annie said of course, and after reading a few chapters, Chloe shut off the lantern. The four then fell into a much needed sleep easily, to the sound of each other's breath, under the canopy of the home they had made.

**Well, that was long chapter and it took me a while to write. I hope it was worth the wait, I love all your reviews so please continue! Thank you for reading and have a wonderful day. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own this.**

When Annie woke up, her body did not welcome the action. She was sore, tired, every aching muscle a punishment for sleeping on the floor. Both girls were still slumbering, and Katia was snuggling against Chloe, which Annie found adorable.

Annie looked over to Auggie, and it seemed he was awake, his eyes unfocused but directed at their linen ceiling.

"Auggie?" She whispered. It was even softer than she intended as her voice was muffled by her pillow.

"Morning, sunshine," He yawned the words.

"How long have you been awake?" She asked him.

"A few minutes." He answered, and she believed it. His voice still sounded like sleep.

Annie willed herself to sit up. Every part of her protested, but pure will propped her upright.

"As lovely as this amazing fort is, the girls need beds to sleep in. I also need groceries. So I think I'm gonna take the girls and do some shopping today."

"Do you need me to come with you? I'm going to head to Langley soon, I have a car coming."

"You go ahead. I don't think you would like Ikea." Annie couldn't imagine a crowded and unfamiliar place being particularly fun for him today. Besides, she knew it was important for Auggie to speak with Joan.

"I'm missing Ikea?!" Auggie exclaimed in whisper, feigning distress.

"I know. I'm sorry." Annie deadpanned.

Auggie chuckled. Then, he and Annie worked together to awkwardly navigate his exit of the blanket fort without ruining their masterpiece. They achieved the task but lingered at her threshold, neither truly wanting to part.

"Okay, I really have to go," Auggie contested after their third goodbye kiss.

Annie knew he was right and reluctantly pulled away from him. "Goodbye. I'll see you later tonight?"

"Yes, I'll be back. Also… do call if you need anything. Work's not my priority today."

Annie was touched by the sentiment and thanked him sincerely. Finally, after much hesitation, the two separated and Auggie departed down the stairs. His driver had arrived shortly before, so he was able to leave immediately, heading to his apartment first.

He showered and changed, all the time fighting the urge to climb back in his bed and sleep the rest of the day. He was accustomed to missing an occasional night of sleep, but it didn't mean that nights like the one's he'd had didn't wear on him. He was able to resist and readied himself for his day quickly, pairing a casual tee shirt with a smart blazer. He put coffee in a traveler's mug, grabbed a stale pastry from his pantry and was fast on his way.

Langley on a Sunday morning was slightly less busy than most other times, though Auggie knew that throughout the day officers would abandon their attempts at normalcy and "weekends" and trickle in to start their workweeks early. The day was still young, so Auggie found himself walking through a nearly abandoned DPD to find his way to Joan's office.

"Come in!" She answered his knock on her door. "Auggie, you're back." She observed upon his entry, adding "How was California?"

"That was what I wanted to talk to you about." As he sat down, she shut the door, and he proceeded to tell her everything. He recounted the incidences of being followed and being approached by the suspected FBI agent, and expressed his concerns about the entire situation.

Joan listened, and her response was preceded by a long pause. "Well, Auggie, this case deals with some highly sensitive intel. We're awaiting further developments, but for now there isn't much else I can tell you."

Auggie sensed that the conversation was over, and he left, feeling unsatisfied. But, his feelings of bewilderment and frustration were pushed aside and replaced by curiosity when he was greeted by Barber, who was walking fast and speaking urgently.

"Auggie, you should head to the briefing room. Joan's still in, right?"

When Auggie gave the affirmative, Barber stepped around him and Auggie quickly took Barber's heed and went straight for the briefing room. Though Auggie knew that whatever had arisen could be anything, he hoped that it was that precious intel Joan had been waiting on, that it might allow his questions to be answered.

The DPD's minimal staffing that day meant that the crowd in the briefing room was just him and a few tech ops.

Auggie addressed the room, "Do any of you guys know what this is about?"

Nobody knew, though one tech suggested that it might be something about an op by the border, which further raised Auggie's suspicion that this had to do with Michael Brooks and the operation he was connected to.

Everybody was called to attention when Joan entered and began to address the room. "This is _highly sensitive _intelligence being declassified in light of recent events. If anyone you know is even slightly below your clearance, they have never heard this, and it shall stay that way. I don't have to remind you to be covert." The sentence itself was a reminder. It wasn't often that Joan issued these kinds of talks before reading someone in, but the operation at hand wasn't something she could gamble with, even with her trusted subordinates.

"A known drug cartel operating between Tijuana and Los Angeles has turned towards cyber terrorism. I know, it's not typical drug cartel MO, but the ring in question employed- if you can call it that- hacker Ricardo DeSantos, or as he's known in certain communities, The Editor. 3 years ago, DeSantos may have been a good choice, but by the time the cartel picked him up, he was already on an NSA watch list. While he can hack commercial banks undetected, he didn't escape breaking down an NSA firewall unscathed. So, when The Editor suddenly went missing, it was investigated, launching a massive interagency operation to try to bring down the cartel before they carried out their cyber terrorism plot, the details of which are still classified.

"Michael Brooks was a low-level operative on the case. He has long been a trusted clerical intelligence officer," Knots tied themselves in Auggie's stomach as he anticipated news about Annie's brother in law. "His job was to look through the electronic documents gathered by the NSA and mark them related or not, then pass them on to higher-ups. The cartel found him and took him from his home late Friday night."

Auggie kept quiet while his boss spoke though he had a million thoughts racing through his head and about a million more questions. First, he sensed there was something off with what they had been told about Michael Brooks. Why would an ex- Secret Service man living civilian life have anything to do with an NSA case? Is that why they brought him to California? And why would a cartel want to get ransom from him, if he was just…. His thoughts were interrupted by a new, terrible realization- they didn't. No drug cartel wanted to ransom the paper work guy. They wanted to send a message.

Michael Brooks couldn't have been taken hostage. Michael Brooks would have been destroyed.

So Auggie was a step ahead of Joan when she laid out the horrid details: Michael had in fact been abducted, taken to a warehouse in Pasadena. It was easy for them to find him, very, very easy. FBI agents aided NSA operatives in a raid on the warehouse. Wired to the door were enough explosives to… well, metaphors aside, it caused a massive explosion and 19 fatalities."

"Were Michael Brooks or his kidnappers inside?" An operative asked, vocalizing Auggie's exact thoughts. He was grateful that his coworker spoke, because he wasn't sure he could find his voice, his heart pounding so fast he could feel it in his throat.

"Bomb squad indicated that inside were the bodies of Michael Brooks, Mando Ramirez, and two John Does yet to be identified." Joan, despite the icy, detached demeanor that she approached espionage with, sounded sorry to say that Michael was dead. Auggie was grateful for that fact, but he still couldn't quite let it sink in. He soon thought of Katia and let a profound, heavy sadness shadow all his thoughts. How would he tell Annie, he thought? How would they tell the girls?

He considered this while his colleagues continued their discussion in a professional way that sounded cruel to him in that moment as they asked questions like,_ how did they explain the explosion to the local authorities? What's the NSA's next move in the Cartel op?_

Joan explained that it had been CIA intelligence that connected The Editor to the cartel's operations, but she couldn't say more until she assigned a Tech Op to the case. Barber volunteered, and Joan asked him to follow her to his office. With this, the meeting was over and the group all began to leave to return to their respective duties.

"Joan, can I speak with you?" Auggie finally spoke up when he heard that she, too, was exiting.

"Only for a moment, we have to get moving on this." She inhaled deeply, and in her next words, her tone changed. "I'm sorry, Auggie, really."

"What do I tell Annie?"

"Anything that I just said in this meeting is the only information that has been declassified."

"Isn't that everything?" As he asked the question, he already knew the answer and felt near stupid.

Her reply was indicated that she saw that. "Oh, Auggie."

"Alright, I see, so to speak."

"Auggie, you're technically off right now, if I were you I would take advantage of that."

"Oh, yeah, do you need me in tomorrow morning?" He asked dutifully.

She considered a second. "Um, Tuesday. I'll see you in here Tuesday morning."

"Great," He said. He took his cane from his inner coat pocket and walked out of the building as quickly as he could, his heart rate picking up wildly and his breathing shattering. He recognized the feeling as a panicked sort of heartbreak- like in the moments after Parker left him, something so crushing that he felt he couldn't breathe. This was different- less overwhelming, and much more complicated. He would have to tell Annie that her brother in law had died. The girls would have to know that they- and _ten and twelve years old_ respectively, would have to know they were without a father. How long could they keep it from them? He wondered. When he got out of the building, fresh air let him breathe easier as he found a bench to sit and wait for his ride. He kneaded his face with his hand once over, wrung them, and willed himself to sit still, knowing it would calm him. He breathed. He waited.

Chloe was splayed on a model bunk bed. "Katia! Who am I?" She asked playfully as she took on a gruff voice and said "DANI! Pick one and let's go HOME!"

"You're dad, at Bed Bath and Beyond." She said, insulted by such an easy question but still amused. The girls locked eyes and found themselves breaking up laughing.

Annie had been looking at the prices on some shelving units but looked over when she heard high, squealing laughter in the bunk beds section. She smiled, half slightly embarrassed that they were adding to the noise and chaos of Ikea but infected by the girl's good spirits.

It took a while to get out of the store, between the giggle fits and deciding which bed to buy- they went with bunk bed, which had drawers connected, a happy compromise to the beds vs. storage conundrum.

Chloe and Annie worked together to carry the box upstairs to Chloe's old bedroom, and all three of them helped with the assembly, which took over an hour. They each set up a pallet with the building materials of their blanket fort and put their sleeping bags atop them. They had ordered two mattresses in store and they along with bedding would be arriving by midweek, the cashier promised. Still, the girls unpacked their clothes into the drawers underneath the bottom bunk, and Annie put their suitcases in the basement. She walked back upstairs and saw that the girls were sitting side by side on the bed, speaking softly. They seemed comfortable, at home, and Annie felt satisfied to that.

"Okay, ladies, whose hungry?" They both gave an affirmative "me" and Annie suggested they go out to lunch and then to the grocer.

They found a Noodles & Company and, as they were worn out and hungry, at their pasta with sparse conversation. Chloe asked if she could be dropped off at a friend's house. Once the details had been sorted out, Annie dropped Chloe off at her friend Patricia's place to hang out for a few hours.

Then, she and Katia went to buy groceries. It was one of those things about normal life that Annie was distanced from because of her job. She tended to eat take out at work, and if she bought too many groceries at once, she would inevitably have to jet across the world and they would spoil. She felt guilty for wasting, and she spent so much time at Auggie's place, anyway, that she tended to avoid buying grocery shopping altogether.

But she was reminded of the days before Daniel left, when there was always food in the house and home-cooked meals. She was glad she had Katia there to help her.

They filled the backseat with meals for the week and drove home. Katia was helpful in putting them all away, efficiently filing them into the pantry while Annie brought the bags in from the car.

When they were done, they sat at the counter and snacked on some grapes.

"So what do you wanna do?" Annie asked Katia, privately hoping she would have some ideas.

Katia sat up in her seat, considering. After a moment, she announced, "I want to show you something. But you can't tell anybody."

"Um, okay…" Before Annie could ask any questions, Katia was beckoning her down the basement stairs. Curious and a little concerned, she felt she had no choice but to follow her.

Katia showed Annie down the stairs, through the utilities room and into a storage crawl space.

"Katia, what's going on? What did you want to show me?"

Katia was reaching behind some taped-up U-HAUL boxes and pulled out a worn, half-open box that looked at least ten years old. It was unmarked, crumbling, and dusty, and as Katia delicately pulled back the lid, Annie could see that it was filled with old shoeboxes. Annie had the odd feeling that she recognized the box's contents. She kneeled down next to it and reached inside, gingerly running one of her fingers through a line of dust.

Katia spoke softly, in the voice of a scared secret-teller, "My mom said that you guys moved around a lot because Grandpa was in the military. And that you when moved, you would put all the pictures you had of all your friends and you would out them in a box and bury them in the backyard. And my mom told me that when you would leave, she would dig up the boxes and save them in case you ever wanted them."

Annie was speechless. Her relationship with her sister had never really been easy. They were just close enough in age to fight about anything and everything- boys, grades, clothes. But they did always make up; as jealous and mean as they were as teenagers, on some level they both recognized that they were the only real constants in each other's lives. She couldn't imagine Danielle saving these boxes out of anything other than love.

"Are you okay? I'm sorry, I can put them away if you want." Katia said, staring at her aunt with the sweetest concern in her eyes.

"No, no, sweetie," _I'm fine, _she was going to say, but as she spoke she realized that she was tearing up. Her throat felt closed off, her words were strained, and she felt the tears pooling in her eyelids. Annie was embarrassed. She thought she was better practiced in controlling her body's emotional reactions, but she found tears sliding down her cheeks involuntarily. Quickly, she wiped one away, cleared her throat, and said, "I'm fine. It's just…. I wasn't expecting this."

Katia didn't saying anything, but crouched down next to Annie beside the box. Annie reached in and timidly pulled out the box that lay on top and set it down on her lap. She opened the lid and felt her heart swell. There a few small piles of developed photos from disposable cameras, Polaroids, and a number of handwritten cards and letters, all placed haphazardly in the shoe box. They were from her freshman and sophomore years in high school. She recognized their house in Annapolis from one of the pictures, which showed Annie and her school friend, Amelia, with their arms slung around each other behind a couple piles of leaves. Annie felt a pang of an unusual feeling- nostalgia- as she remembered Danielle taking the picture.

She shut the box and placed it next to her. She wanted to take inventory of all that was in here, before delving too deep into the pictures and letters. But when she reached for the next shoebox, she saw something off to the side of the three remaining shoeboxes- the sole scrapbook Annie had ever made. The one of Ben, marked _Sri Lanka._

She felt a little relieved. She'd never known what she'd done with that scrapbook- one day it just went missing. She looked for it all over her garage apartment, but never found it. Her attachment to the elusive man faded, and after a while, she stopped looking. Memories came flooding back to her. Not of Sri Lanka, but of the days when her memories of that place were still important to her.

"You know, Mom had a bunch of blank books like that lying around here somewhere. If you wanted, we could make the pictures from the boxes into scrapbooks, too."

Annie was completely overwhelmed. Nostalgia, memories, and attachments were never her strong suit, and never in a thousand years would she have expected that today of all days she would be presented with a box of memorabilia from her hard-fought forgotten past. It was too soon to consider what to do with all of it. "Maybe later." She answered, not wanting to write off the possibility altogether but definitely wanting to leave the dusty basement.

The moment they made it back to the kitchen was contemporaneous with a knock on the back door, and Annie opened it to find Auggie, looking slightly out of sorts.

Auggie sensed that Katia was there too, and tread lightly over his words. "Annie- we have to talk about some work stuff, do you have a minute?"

"Sure," Annie replied as coolly as she could, but nervousness filled her to the brim. A thought crept up on her: _Something's changed. _She prepared herself for the worst.

TO BE CONTINUED

**A/N: Thank you all for the all reviews, follows and favorites. I'm sorry this chapter took me so long. I will be writing more soon! September is going to be a crazy busy month for me- school and two shows, but I will try to write at least a few chapters before them. Let me know- should I post all the chapters, or space out posting them during the month that I won't be writing?**

**This story was inspired by details from season one, which I recently re-watched. The episode where Annie signs Danielle's will in particular, and also when she mentions that she buried all her pictures. I don't know if any one still remembers that stuff but it is canon so credit to the writers!**

**Thank you for reading and reviewing! **


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